Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN
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Approximately 18% of patients undergoing cardiac surgery experience AKI (on the basis of modern standardized definitions of AKI), and approximately 2%-6% will require hemodialysis. The development of AKI after cardiac surgery portends poor short- and long-term prognoses, with those developing RIFLE failure or AKI Network stage III having an almost 2-fold increase in the risk of death. ⋯ Remote ischemic preconditioning is an exciting future strategy, but more work is needed before widespread implementation. Unfortunately, there are no pharmacologic agents known to reduce the risk of AKI or treat established AKI.